Recognizing how to be living real has been a huge challenge in my life these past few years and I see how much I've been held back because of living for myself and putting up that front so that others will get the impression that I'm a good christian in order to continue doing whatever I want when no one could see. I believe so much of my upbringing in church encouraged that way of living. I know this because of looking back on my own life and the fruit that resulted from it and the fruit of others who have had the same upbringing. I'm so blessed that God has helped me see this in my life now because it's an opportunity to change. I have had to make some major heart changes and it's been a tough battle but God is good and has given me the strength to fight through my stubbornness. I know this is bold of me to say but it's becoming more and more evident of how lost people are who claim to know God when they really do not! WHAT WE DO WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS LOOKING, DEFINES WHO WE REALLY ARE. I was told this once by the most loving person I know a few years ago and it has always stuck. It has helped convict me with the issue of my thought life and the condition of my heart. I still find myself thinking through this phrase because I want the root of the sin ripped out of my heart! Things that start to process in my thoughts that I recognized as a red flag, I need to stop and think about what is really going on in my heart! Is this making any sense? I feel frustrated because I'm a terrible writer but I want to share and express what it is that I'm learning and feeling concerned about!
Anyway I hope it sticks to whomever reads this who is challenged in this area of their lives.
"As in water face reflects face, So a man's heart reveals the man." Proverbs 27:19
It does make sense, Missy. I've been going through the same these last few years - having kids has been what God used to show me the true condition of my heart, the selfishness and the lovelessness. Psalm 14:3 "They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one."
ReplyDeleteI like his illustration of using a feather duster to to clean up the living room when what you really need is a shovel to get the "mess" out of the house. Convicting. We're all guilty of that at different points in life. Thank God that He is always our loving Father: willing to hear our confession, forgive our sins, help us put the "old man" aside and live for His glory. I hope that you can also see that there are many, many, many people who have "grown up in church" who are REAL, GENUINE, HUMBLE, SERVANTS of Christ.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your thoughts, Missy, and hearing what you are feeling deeply about. Thanks for making the effort to write it all down. I hope you continue. It is true that there are people who say they follow Christ but only do it outwardly--they may even fool themselves. God "weighs the heart", His eyes go where no human eyes can see. However, there are many in the church who do confess their sins openly. I went to visit a woman today who wanted to confess her sins and to know if she could still serve the Lord. Another woman confessed yesterday in a coffee shop, and in my Sunday School class a couple weeks ago when I asked if anyone wanted to confess anything, two other women spoke up right away--confessing their sins of rebellion and superiority over husbands and authority in their lives. After I confessed some sin in front of my Bible study group, another woman came to me to say how much it helped her to know that I had issues in my life, too. Having not realized that some thought that the pastor's wife was "good", I began to see the importance of letting others know what my struggles were so that they would have hope in theirs, and together we could encourage each other to obey Christ. I don't think that confession is the last word. There has to be forgiveness asked and given, and change begun. God our Father is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, so that we can live in holy ways in a dirty, God-hating world.
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom
Thanks for the input everyone. I didn't mean to imply that everyone in the church is fake. I do think it is a problem in general and from my own experience and also from finding out about the lives of others that unfortunately came from the same church, I can't help but question the church. For me, it came down to true salvation in Christ. I know that as a true christian, we still have sin issues but if it is a working and growing process to confess and actively work on those sin issues, I believe you are a true believer. It's all about our hearts and for me my heart has not been for Christ and I was using the outward appearance to coverup the darkness of my heart. I know NOW that I have Christ in my heart but that wasn't the case for most of my life. That's why I feel so concerned because I know that I was on my way to hell living this way and I know that many, many others are too that are living only for themselves, justifying why they do the things they do, but every Sunday as they attend church, it's those external rules and traditions that cover it up and that will get you into heaven, so they think.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Missy! It's one of the issues that I talk about with women who think that their grown children are okay because once upon a time they said a prayer. No, even the demons know and believe that Jesus is the Christ, and they are not His children and will not see the Kingdom of God. If a person is indwelt by the Spirit of God, i.e. His child, that person will have evidences of that Spirit. She/He will be grieved by sin and there will be love of Christ and His Word showing somewhere. It is frightening to think that MANY will come before Jesus at the final judgement and will be shocked when He says, "I never knew you." We can't say He didn't warn us in Matthew 7: 21-23, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then, I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Jesus is warning us that it isn't about the works we do, but about Him knowing us and about where our hearts are.
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